Twisted Fate
by OfMirthandTears
Summary: ""HE'S DEAD! YOU CAN'T SAVE HIM!" His voice broke again. "Nobody can save him now."  Sirius stopped struggling against Remus and hung limply in his arms. He looked to the veil in horror as the truth of those words hit him.  Harry was dead." AU No slash.
1. Chapter 1

Okay..so I was actually inspired by some fanart on ...jeftoon01's twisted princess series...so if you like creepy versions of the disney princesses..go check 'em out.  
Enjoy the Story!

* * *

Sirius ducked another jet of green light. He heard it strike the wall with a boom and the crash echoed around the circular room, yet it was lost in the screams and shouts of battle. Out of the corner of his eye, Sirius could see Remus fighting a masked Death Eater. Remus quickly finished him off and caught Sirius' eye. He gave Remus a quick smile before lunging back into battle.

Sirius stunned a Death Eater who was grappling with Hermione, then kicked another one who was shooting Killing Curses at that Longbottom boy while laughing madly. The Death Eater snarled and shot a curse at him. He dodged it and out of the corner of him eye saw it disappear into the Veil.  
"Hey Doggy!"

Sirius' head jerked at the loud female shriek. He hadn't heard that voice in years. Could it be-?

Bellatrix Lestrange smiled at him, her waxy skin stretching in unnatural ways and her eyes glinting with insanity. "Wanna play, doggie?"

"Let's dance, bitch," Sirius growled and then lunged at her.  
Her taunts quickly turned into pants as he jumped around her, shooting hexes, curses, jinxes, everything he knew, desperate to end this battle and get revenge on the family that had ruined his childhood.

Bellatrix suddenly collapsed on the rock, wheezing. "I submit!" she screamed. " I submit!"

Sirius dug his wand into her neck. Bellatrix's eyes bulged.

_Kill her and get revenge, but get stuck back into Azkaban for real murder, _He thought, _Or let her live and have her get thrown back into Azkaban. _

"Fine. I'll let you live," Sirius hissed through gritted teeth. "But you will pay."

He turned and walked away. Then he heard a shriek of laughter and a shout of "AVADA KEDAVRA!"

He turned but it was too late. He had no time to duck, the curse came closer and closer, then-

"SIRIUS!"

Sirius was suddenly pushed sideways and he stumbled. He heard Bellatrix's shriek of laughter. Then he saw Remus' face.

The blood had drained from his friend's face and he was looking at something behind Sirius with a look of horror. Sirius turned to face to face the veil and saw Harry's body disappearing into its shawdowy depths.

A/N: This is hopefully going to be the shortest chapter…the rest will be longer. If you have any suggestions on how to improve my writing, please tell me. I'm trying to improve on my skills. Thanks and please review!


	2. Chapter 2

Do I own Harry Potter?

No.

Do I wish I did?

Yes.

But I don't so….read and review!

_Sirius turned to face to face the veil and saw Harry's body disappearing into its depths. _

"HARRY!"

He lunged for the veil, desperate to save Harry, he just needed to pull him ' arms suddenly pulled him back. Sirius struggled against him, wanting to run to the veil, need to pull Harry out, he needed to save him.

"Sirius! Stop! He's," Remus' voice cracked. "….he's dead Sirius."

"NO!" Sirius bellowed. "He's not he can't be! HARRY!"

"SIRIUS STOP IT!" Remus bellowed. "HE'S IS DEAD! YOU CAN'T SAVE HIM!" His voice broke again. "Nobody can save him now."

Sirius stopped struggling against Remus and hung limply in his arms. He looked to the veil in horror as the truth of those words hit him.

Harry was dead.

Just like James and Lilly.

Remus carefully led Sirius away from the veil. He could feel the wolf's rage in him, desperate to get out. He gave it a sharp jab with his mind and it stopped, yet he could still feel rage. He wanted to kill Bellatrix, make her pay for what she did. The wolf in him wanted to kill her, torture her, anything to make her feel the pain he was feeling.

"Remus."

Mad-Eye Moody limped towards him, sticking his magical eye back into his head with one hand.

"Remus, I'm sorry."

"Thanks you for the simpathy Alastor," Remus said miserably.

Moody sighed. "I'm going to get those kids home. Merlin knows what they're going through," he said gesturing towards the small group of teenagers huddled against the wall. Looking over, Remus could see Hermione and Ginny sobbing into each other's arms. The blonde girl, what was her name? Luna? Yes, that was it. She was standing petrified against the wall, with tears sliding silently down white cheeks. Ron was struggling towards the cracked archway. His shouts and roars of anger echoed around the room as Neville struggled to hold him back. As Remus watched, Ron stopped his desperate struggle and collapsed onto the floor.

"And, Remus," Moody said gruffly.

"Yes Alastor?"

Moody looked over at a limp figure on the other side of the room. "Tonks is hurt. I don't think its serious, but I want you to take her to St. Mungos just in case. I don't want to lose any more soldiers tonight."

He gave Remus a brief nod.

"Remus?"

Tonks' quiet voice broke his thoughts.

He looked at her, one arm still supporting Sirius. She was bleeding from a large cut other forehead. Tonks looked at Sirius curiously.

"What happened? One minute the Death Eaters were there, the next they were gone and it made no sense-"

"Harry's dead."

Tonks froze.

"What?" she finally whispered, "How?"

"Bellatrix Lestrange," Remus said heavily.

Tonks' eyes instantly filled with tears.

"Remus, I-"

She broke off as Kingsley walked up and took Sirius from Remus. He look at Remus and said quietly, "I'm very sorry Remus."  
Remus nodded. "What are you going to do with him?" He gestured to the still unresponsive Sirius.

"Probably St. Mungo's," Kingsley said, readjusting his hold on Sirius. "The Minister just cleared him off all charges, so he's a free man."

"Finally," Remus muttered.

Kingsley nodded to both of them. "Now, he just needs to recover." He turned and walked away, heaving Sirius over one shoulder.

Tonks turned back to him. "Remus, I'm so sorry."

"Thank you Tonks."

She nodded, tears still making their way down her pale cheeks. She suddenly rushed forward and hugged him. Remus looked at her in shock, before hugging her back. They stood there for a while, sobbing into each other's shoulders.

"Tonks?"

"Yes Remus?"

"Do you think we can still win this with Harry gone?"

Tonks pulled away from him and bit her lip. "Yes I do."

"Really?"

"Why wouldn't we be able to win?"

"Harry was said to be the only one that could defeat Voldemort. Now he's….dead. "

Tonks put her hand to his face. "Don't give up hope Remus. We can still win this.

"How Tonks?" Remus whispered. "How can we win?"

"Just don't give up hope. Never give up hope."

They stood there for a moment in silence.

"I should go and check on Sirius," Remus muttered.

"Okay, good luck." Tonks gave him one last hug.

He hugged her back the disapperated. He appeared outside the dingy red brick store that was the entrance to the hospital. He made to go in, then stopped and sagged against the wall. Tears flew freely down his face.

"Harry…" he moaned. "Why? Why him? WHY?"

He shouted the last word to the sky. Muggle passerby's shot him nervous looks and hurried past him. The wolf was almost out. He was going to lose control. He punched the wall angrily and gave a yell of pain and his knuckles broke against the brick wall. He slid the ground, tears still coming down his cheeks. Remus sat there for a while, sobbing into him hands. He dimly heard footsteps and then Kingley's voice. "Come on Remus. Let's get you inside."

Kingsley led him through the magical barrier, up flights of stairs, through a door, before different hands took him. Healers. They led him to a bed, which he gratefully collapsed upon and instantly fell asleep.


	3. Chapter 3

I do not own Harry Potter…as much as I would want to….I don't!

* * *

_The bright flash of green light blazed through Sirius' eyelids and flashed around the room. It caught Harry in the chest and he toppled through the veil. His dimming eyes caught Sirius' with a look of betrayal. _

"_You betrayed me Sirius…"_

_Then Harry turned into James. _

"_Sirius I trusted you! How could you let Harry die! You were my best friend, my brother! And now, my son, my only son….I trusted you…and now Harry Potter is dead you traiter. HARRY IS DEAD-!__"_

Sirius jerked upward in his bed, sweat making the covers stick to him. He took great gasps of breath to try and calm himself.

"Harry…" he moaned. "I'm so….sorry!"

He leaned forward, burying his face in his hands.

"Sirius?"

Remus poked his head into Sirius' room. "You okay, mate?"

"No!" Sirius croaked. "Leave me alone! I just….wanna die….wanna be with….Harry."

"Sirius," Remus walked to Sirius and sat gently on the end of the bed. "It's been almost six months. Now I know it's gonna be hard to get over his death. Even I'm still recovering. But wallowing in grief in your room isn't going to solve anything."

"How do you know that?"

"It's just common sense! Now, if you aren't out of bed by noon, I will set Molly on you, you understand?"

"Yes Daddy," Sirius replied snidely.

Remus sighed and walked out of the room.

'Wallowing in grief, Sirius thought. 'Yea, more like being haunted by your dead best mate and his son. '

He heaved himself out of the bed. Without grabbing clean clothes, (he had fallen asleep in his day clothes) he stumbled out of his room and down the stairs. Groping in the darkness, he grasped the door handle of the kitchen and staggered towards the pantry. He fumbled around, and then stumbled out clutching a bottle of fire whiskey. He collapsed in a chair and uncorked the bottle.

"No Sirius!"

Remus' hands suddenly grabbed the bottle out of his hands.

"Hey! I was gonna drink that!" Sirius protested.

Remus ignored him "When I said get out of bed, I didn't mean go to the kitchen and get drunk again!"

"Fine I'll go in the drawing room," Sirius muttered.

"That's not what I meant, Sirius."

"Well what do you expect me to do," Sirius shouted. "Harry is dead! Dead Remus! And you expect me to get along with my life like nothing happened!"

"It's been six months! I know you have problems dealing with your emotional issues, but you have a life to live!"

"I can't live while Harry is dead, Remus," Sirius bellowed.

He stormed out of the room and out the door. Shoving his hands into his pockets he stormed down the street.

"Stupid…doesn't…bloody idiot..doesn't understand," Sirius muttered to himself. "Never….Remus. Stupid….werewolf….doesn't….understand."

A mother passing by gave him a wary look and ushered her son across the street. Sirius glowered at them from across the street.

"At least you have someone to live for!" he muttered, his eyes on their retreating backs.

"Be grateful for your lives, " Sirius bellowed.

"Sirius!"

Sirius looked over his shoulder to see Remus walking quickly towards him.

He turned on the spot disapperated. The now-familiar painful choking feel surrounded him and then it was gone and he was staring at the visitor's entrance of the Ministry of Magic.

Remus watched as Sirius dissapperated with a loud crack.

"Damn."

* * *

Just like Sirius to do something stupid while he wasn't thinking right. It wasn't that Sirius could get arrested, he had been cleared when Harry was killed. But, Sirius wasn't in his right mind, and a Sirius that wasn't in his right mind was a dangerous Sirius. What Sirius had tried to do to Pettigrew was proof of that.

So where would Sirius go, now?

Remus suddenly straightened.

"The Ministry," he breathed.

A/N: Darnit another short chapter. I try not to do this, but it just happens... Reviews greatly appreciated!


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer- Don't own Harry Potter. Or Sirius, or…Remus…thought I want to. I don't.

* * *

Sirius brushed past Ministry officials, not really noticing who he pushed. Whispers of "It's Sirius Black." "They say he's innocent. You believe them?" "Nah," floated around the Atrium.

Sirius shoved himself into a lift. The others in the compartment caught sight of his distraught expression and scooted away. The lift closed and jolted down. It slowly emptied as it descended down into the Ministry.

With a final jolt the expressionless female voice said "The Department of Mysteries."

Sirius took a step out of the lift. In front of his was a long corridor with an unmarked black door at the end. He staggered down the hall and leaned heavily against the door. Grasping the handle he shoved the door open.

It opened to reveal the circular room full of unmarked doors. There was only a moment of uncertainty before a door sprang open. Sirius walked towards it in almost a dreamlike state before his eyes came across the ever fluttering Veil of Death.

Whispers of the Dead seemed to some at him from every direction. Some of them seemed to form words. "Traitor." "Broken trust." "My son, Sirius."

"Harry," Sirius whispered. He reached toward the veil. "I'm so sorry. But, don't worry, I will save you."

But how? Maybe..if he destroyed it?

One hand fumbled in his pocket for his wand. With trembling figures he pulled it out and pointed it at the archway.

"Confringo."

A bright jet of white magic shot out of the end of his wand and exploded when it hit the veil. Instantly, all the lights in the room went out. Sirius froze, wand still raised. He flinched when something trailed across his face. Something tugged on his shirt, and then suddenly his clothes were being snatched at. Something yanked on his hair, ripped his shirt. Sirius dropped his wand to wave wildly in the blackness, beating at his unknown attacker. Then, it was over. He huddled against the cold floor, shivering, eyes closed. The lights came back on and the sudden brightness blazed through his eyelids. He opened them hesitantly, and then looked at what stood before him in shock.

Standing in front of him, was Harry Potter.

His form wavered, like water, and his edges were blurred.

"Sirius…."

The word came almost as a whisper.

"Harry," Sirius whispered weakly.

Harry looked at him with dead eyes. Sirius let out a small gasp of shock. His eyes, which had been so bright and full of life, were now dull and seemed to go on forever.

"How could you Sirius," Harry suddenly bellowed. "How could you let me die!"

"I'm sorry Harry," Sirius gasped. "I didn't mean…I'm sorry!"

"Sorry," Harry sneered. "Empty words from an empty heart. You could have stopped her, but no, you just stood there, looking stupid, so I had to push you out of the way."

"Harry…please…I'm sorry!" Sirius moaned. "It's all my fault."

"Your right. It is your fault," Harry snarled. "I'm dead. And it's your fault."

Sirius looked at Harry, tears pouring down his cheeks. "I will avenge you. I promise."

"Make sure you keep your promise, traitor."

And with that the ghostly image of Harry faded into nothingness, leaving Sirius alone in the Death Chamber.

Sirius straightened and faced the veil once more. He stumbled toward it, nearly tripping down the stairs. He stopped, inches from the archway. He hesitated and then placed a single finger on the jagged rock.

Instantly, dark black smoke exploded from the archway and enveloped him. Dark shapes flew from the Veil and swarmed around him. Faces formed briefly, then disappeared. Harry, James, Lilly, that boy who was killed in that tournament a while ago. Faces of those who had died in the last war, faces of those he did not know; bloody soldiers, sick children, faces of muggles with dull, staring eyes. The Faces of the Dead.

* * *

Remus raced through the Ministry, shoving others out of the way.

"Oi!"

"Watch yourself laddie!"

"Sorry!" Remus shouted over his shoulder.

He raced towards the lifts and launched himself into the first one that opened. It was, thankfully, empty. He punched the button that would lead him to the bottom floor of the Ministry.

"Come on, come one. Hurry!" he hissed, pressing the button repeatedly as the lift doors slowly closed. With a jolt, the compartment finally moved backwards. It suddenly rocketed downwards and landed with another sickening jolt.

"The Department of Mysteries."

Remus knew immediately something was wrong. Black smoke covered the floor and dark shadows danced along the walls. He ran down the hallway, tripping over his own feet in his haste. The unmarked door and the end of the corridor stood ajar, and more of the black smoke was pouring out of it. Wrenching the door open he sprinted into the circular room and saw, to his dismay, another door was standing open. He raced through there, down that short hallway and then came to a stop, his eyes fixed in horror on the scene before him.

Sirius stood there, his form barely visible in the midst of the black smoke surrounding him. His eyes found Remus'. They held a look of terror and also, shock. His eyes darted around him, as if he could see things Remus could not.

Then without warning he was wrenched up and hovered there, twenty feet off the ground as the dark shapes suddenly flew at him.

"Sirius!"

Remus rushed forward but a dark shadows swooped down and he was thrown backwards. The shadows were swirling around Sirius; Remus could barely see him hanging limply in the air. Then, Sirius went rigid, his eyes open in terror, and he screamed.

The shadows, or were they spirits, completely covered him. Light glowed dimly from an unknown source and the veil seemed to be trembling. Suddenly, they disappeared and Sirius dropped.

"Sirius! What the-? Oh Merlin, Sirius! Are you okay," Remus asked, running over to the still form of Sirius.

Sirius' eyes were closed and blood trickled down his chin.

"Sirius-?"

Then Sirius' eyes sprang open and Remus launched himself backwards in shock.

Sirius' eyes were burned out, just scorched black remains of once bright grey eyes.

"Did you kill him?"

His voice was raspy and trembled with anger.

"What?"

"You…did you…kill him?"

"Who? Harry?"

With a roar of rage, Sirius stood up, teeth bared in a snarl. "You have no right to say his name!"

Remus looked at Sirius in confusion. "Sirius? I didn't kill him, Bellatrix did."

Sirius sneered. "Bellatrix….she….Bellatrix." He looked at Remus murderously. "She will pay. I will kill her."

"No! Sirius!" Remus sprang forward grabbing Sirius arm. "You'll land in Azkaban aga-"

His words were cut short as Sirius lashed out at him. His fist caught Remus in the nose. Remus let out a howl of pain as his nose broke. Sirius looked at him with those black sockets, his teeth bared in an animalistic snarl.

"Sirius! What the hell?"

Sirius' wand was suddenly in his hand and with a "Avada Kedavra!" the green light barreled towads Remus. Remus launched himself out of the way and whipped his own wand out.

"Sirius? What the hell are you doing?"

"You…you could have stopped him," Sirius screamed. "You should have died!"

His words stabbed Remus like swords. "Sirius-?"

"You could have stopped him, could have taken the curse for me. YOU SHOULD HAVE DIED!"

Sirius launched another volley of Killing Curses at him. Remus dodged all of them, shooting a few stunning hexes back.

"YOU SHOULD HAVE DIED! BUT YOU DIDN'T! SO I'LL KILL YOU MYSELF," Sirius roared, launching himself at Remus, a look of madness etched in every line of his wasted face.

"Sirius stop," Remus bellowed, throwing Sirius off him. "It wasn't your fault! Stop blaming yourself!"

"IM BLAMING YOU, YOU IDIOT!"

"I won't pretend that doesn't hurt, but I won't hurt you. I can't," Remus whispered. "You're my best mate."

"Not anymore," Sirius snarled.

Remus froze. No, he couldn't mean that. He didn't mean that.

His moment of hesitation was his mistake.

Sirius pounced of him, his wand slashing through the air. Deep cuts appeared in Remus chest. He gritted his teeth, struggling not to cry out. His chest heaved as he shoved Sirius off him. Breathing heavy, he threw one last look at Sirius, then sprinted out of the room. Down the hall, up the lifts, into the Atrium. People threw him shocked looks, but he didn't see them. All he saw was the crazed burned black sockets of Sirius Black.

A/N: Okay..so umm kinda weird...but I thought that make an intersting plot.

For anyone that's confused...the shadows were like spirits of the dead, and now their kinda like controlling Sirius. So he's like a living zombie with magical powers...yeah.


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer- I do not own Harry Potter or the characters.

* * *

"REMUS!"

Molly's scream split the air as Remus apparated straight into her kitchen. She looked in horror at him, eyes lingering on the slashes in his bloody shirt, the broken nose. But what really scared her were his eyes. The amber orbs were open in shock, terror, grief, confusion, and fury.

"Help," he croaked. Then he collapsed.

Molly screamed again.

"Arthur! Arthur come quickly!"

Molly rushed to Remus' side, her wand moving in complicated patterns in the air. The deep cuts started to heal, and with a snap Remus' nose jerked back into place. Remus let out a groan of pain.

"What happened?" Arthur's concerned voice joined Molly's frantic one.

"Shush Arthur, let him breath!"

"But Molly, I need to know what happened!"

"Not now Arthur! He's injured! Now Remus, drink this it'll help."

Remus felt a goblet being held against his lips and he automatically opened them. He gagged when a foul tasting liquid entered his mouth, but he forced himself to swallow.

"Remus, can you sit up?" Molly asked worriedly.

Remus struggled to sit up, letting out a moan of pain as his muscles screamed in protest. "Kind of."

"Well then, just rest for a moment and you'll be up and around in no time," Molly smiled at him, but Remus could still see a trace of concern in her eyes.

Arthur walked over and crouched beside Remus from where he sat on the floor. "Remus, what happened?"

Remus closed his eyes, once again seeing the tortured white face of Sirius. "I'm not really sure. It's just…" Remus drew a shuddering breath. "Sirius…he's….gone."

"Gone?" Arthur said sharply. "Like…dead?"

"No," Remus shook his head, chest heaving. "Not dead. But he's not…himself."

"What do you mean," Arthur asked, his eyes narrowing.

Remus took another deep breath and recounted the events at the Ministry, what had happened at the chamber, and Sirius' sudden violent actions.

"Then he just started to attack me…he wanted me dead. Somehow he thought I was responsible for Harry's death. He tried to kill me, Arthur!" Remus let out a shaky breath. "He..just…he wanted to kill me."

Arthur took off his glasses and rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Well, that's going to be a problem."

"Of course it is Arthur," Molly snapped suddenly. Her eyes were shining with tears. "We're in the middle of a war, for Merlin's sake. You-Know-Who is getting stronger every day, people are dying. And now, one of the main members of the Order has gone completely mental!"

"But why?" Arthur looked up at her. "I know that for the past six months he's been drowning himself in his misery, but he never seem like a man that would try to kill his best mate!"

_He said he wasn't my best mate anymore_, Remus thought with a pang.

Molly bit her lip in anxiety. "We should inform Dumbledore. And the rest of the Order. They need to know what's happening."

"That might not be the wisest thing to do," Remus said. "Finding out that one of their friends has gone insane might cause a panic. I think we should just tell Dumbledore, and then if Dumbledore thinks it would be best to tell the Order, then we tell them."

Arthur looked at him for a moment then said slowly. "And you think Dumbledore will know what happened?"

"He's got to," Remus snapped.

"All right," Arthur said after a second of hesitation. "You go to Dumbledore. I'll go to the Ministry to see if anything happened after you left."

"Wait," Molly looked at him with some alarm. "Now? Remus needs to recover, surely it can wait until the morning…?"

"No it can't," Remus said with a note of finality. "The sooner we get Sirius back the better."

He stood up, wobbled for a moment, then strode over to where Molly had hung his cloak. "I'll be back as soon as I get an answer," he said, pulling on the heavy traveling cloak.

"Good luck Remus," Arthur said solemnly.

Remus gave him a quick smile then striding over to the fireplace and grabbing a handful of Floo Powder he cried, "Hogwarts, Dumbledore's Office," and vanished in a burst of emerald flames.

Remus swirled around in the flames, flashing past different fireplaces before falling out of one and finding himself face to face with Albus Dumbledore.

"Remus!" The Headmaster cried gaily. "How wonderful to see you! I'm not prepared for guests, but I'm sure I have some tea around here somewhere-"

"Albus, something's wrong."

Dumbledore stopped in the middle searching in his desk drawers for tea. Straightening up, he looked at Remus with pained eyes. "You heard about Sirius, then?"

"Heard about it? I was there," Remus snarled. "And how do you know?"

Dumbledore sighed, and sat down at his desk. Folding his hands in front of him, he said, "Less than an hour ago, Sirius was seen bolting out of the Department of Mysteries, shouting about Bellatrix Lestrange, Harry Potter, and if I'm not mistaken, you."

"Yea, he tried to kill me about an hour ago," Remus snapped.

Dumbledore looked shocked. "I see. Well, that makes sense. Sirius was, ah, causing a bit of a disturbance at the Ministry. Yelling about killing people and so on. So, several Ministry employees attempted to stop him. Out of the five that approached him, two were killed."

"What," Remus exclaimed, eyes widening in shock. "He…Sirius…killed them? Who…how?"

"Amanda Subriens and Charles Montgomery, both of the Magical Law Enforcement. Mrs. Subriens was killed by the Killing Curse, and Mr. Montgomery's throat was torn out. Henry Rivers of the Auror Department was injured and is now in St. Mungos, but I do believe he will survive." Dumbledore looked at Remus grimly. "I need to know what happened with you and Sirius."

Remus sighed heavily and once again recounted the brief fight between Sirius and him.

When he was done, Dumbledore let of a sigh and crossed the room to stare out of the window and out at the dark grounds.

"Why is all of this happening," Remus whispered. "What happened?"

"I do believe that Sirius is being controlled by someone…or something," Dumbledore said, still looking out the window.

"What do you mean?"

Dumbledore tore his eyes away from bright half moon. "You said that when you arrived he was surrounded by smoke? Then he was wrenched up in the air and when he fell, his eyes were…burned out?" He looked at Remus questioningly.

"Yea," Remus said, his brow furrowing. "It was horrible…just scorched , blackened pits."

Dumbledore nodded."Well, this has only happened once before, in the early 1400s. The Death Chamber had just been made, then it was used for executions. It was, and still is, a barrier between life and death. Anyway, Valdis Thane was a thief in the 1400s. He raided shops and small villages. In 1423 he was caught in Southern Wales after robbing and killing a muggle farmer and his family. He was put to death by way of the Veil of Death. His wife, Morgan was naturally devastated when she found out. In a fit of rage, she stormed to the Ministry. History says she thought that breaking the veil would bring back her beloved husband. However, upon trying to destroy the veil, the spirits of the dead came out and took control of her mind and body. Death took her furious thoughts and twisted them, making her think that the Ministry had to pay for killing her husband. So, she went on a killing spree, slaughtering people, mainly Ministry officials, terrifying others. Her victims that were left to live would say that her eyes, burned scorched remains of eyes, haunted their every waking thought before they would kill themselves to be rid of her. Every move to kill her would be hopeless, as some deadly force protected her from every form of harm."

"Then how did she die," Remus whispered.

Dumbledore shook his head. "That is one of the mysteries we have yet to solve. None of the old books say what happened…just that after killing the Minister of that time, she vanished off the face of the Earth."

Silence met his words. Remus was shocked. His mate, his best mate, was being controlled by the Dead?

"You said she had a motive," Remus said slowly. "She was out for revenge. And killing everyone in the Ministry would fulfill that feeling for revenge."

"Yes," Dumbledore said, surveying him over his half moon glasses. "Why? Do you know of some purpose Sirius has?"

"Yes," Remus said dully, burying his face in his hands.

"What is it?"

"He wants…" Remus looked up at Dumbledore, looking thoroughly miserable. "He wants Bellatrix Lestrange dead. To avenge Harry."

Dumbledore leaned back in his chair. "Oh well, that isn't as bad as it could be…"

"No, I think he's out for more. He wants to make everyone pay. He wants everyone to feel like they're to blame." Remus closed his eyes and sighed. After a moment he opened them again, and Dumbledore was slightly alarmed to see them shining with tears

"I think he's going to go after everyone who was there that night Harry died."

Dumbledore looked suddenly alarmed. "No…you can't mean…"

A tear fell down Remus' cheek.

"The Death Eaters, the Order, the children. He wants us all dead."

* * *

A/N: Boring chapter. Well, at least it was to me...too much talking, but I wanted to get some back round info out. Next chapter will hopefully have some action in it. \

School gets back in this week, and that means sports and projects will start up right away, but I'll try to update as soon as possible!


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer- I don't own Harry Potter, if I did I'd be rich and writing more Harry Potter books.**

**A/N: Oh my god I am so sorry it's been like forever since I updated. My life decided to get busy now, so sports and school and everything is terrible.**

**Anyway enough about my pathetic life….On with the story!

* * *

**"Checkmate."

Dolohov let out a roar of rage and annoyance as Avery leaned back in his chair with a smirk.

"That's the tenth time!" Dolohov spat through gritted teeth.

"Why don't you just quit and admit that I'm a better chess player than you are." Avery grinned.

He gave a chuckle at the glare of loathing he got.

"Again," Dolohov snarled.

"He's going to beat you, Antonin," Nott said from the shadows. "Don't play him and you can resist further humiliation."

He burst out laughing when Dolohov hurled a chess set at him. The hoarse sound carried across the dark grounds of the Malfoy Manor.

The three men keeping watch did not see a black figure detach from the shadows of the trees.

"Why are we even here?" Avery said to nobody in particular, taking a sip of fire whisky. "The Dark Lord doesn't need protection."

"You heard Bellatrix," Dolohov muttered. "The Dark Lord doesn't require protection, but this house does. People tink he's going to be here and this is his base, so he needs to keep it protected. Apparently there may be something after him."

"Of course there is," Avery said, his mouth twisted into a leering smile. "He's the Dark Lord! The entire Ministry is after him; they know he's back after that fight with Dumbledore. And, the Order of the Phoenix is trying to hunt him down!"

None of them heard the front door of the house slowly creak open.

"Good luck to them," Dolohov grunted.

"But there's that Sirius Black out," Nott said, licking his cracked lips. "Did you see that article in the Prophet a few days ago? Or did you hear Yaxley? You couldn't have possibly missed his tale of how the Black killed those Magical Law Enforcement workers?"

"Yea I heard." Avery yawned and stretched. "Everyone's talking about it ain't they?"

They didn't hear the light footsteps climbing up the stairs.

"Bellatrix was laughing about it yesterday," Dolohov said turning over a chess piece in his hand. "Said she's always knew he'd crack."

Footsteps walked delicately down the hall, but they did not hear them.

"I wonder if the Dark Lord will be interested in Black joining him?" Avery mused.

"I doubt it. He's had too much dealing with the Order," Nott said shaking his head.

The footsteps stopped right outside their door.

Dolohov snapped the chess piece his half. "Shouldn't there be more protection than just us?"

"Wormtail's here," Nott yawned. "And Narcissa."

"Wormtail doesn't count. He's useless in dueling. And plus there's no need for more security. Not now at least," Avery said, taking another swig of fire whiskey. "There's much more when the Dark Lord is here."

"But why is there security? The Dark Lord didn't authorize it," Dolohov said leaning over the knock the fire whiskey out of Avery's hand. "And stop drinking that. You're going to get drunk."

"The Dark Lord didn't," Nott said over Avery's protests. "But Bellatrix did. She wants to protect her master." He grinned, showing yellow teeth. "I swear some day, Bellatrix and the Dark Lord are going to be a thing-"

The door banged open and the three men jumped to their feet, wands appearing in their hands. Their breaths caught in their chests as they saw the trembling form of Sirius Black. His tongue licked his cracked and bloody lips and he bared his yellow teeth in an animalistic grin.

"Bellatrix?" He rasped. "You know her?"

"Black!" Avery whispered. "What-what are you doing here?"

He gave a yelp as Sirius launched himself at Avery and his wand appeared at the Death Eater's throat.

"Where is Bellatrix?" Sirius snarled, ignoring Dolohov and Nott's alarmed shouts.

"I don't know," Avery whimpered. "I don't-"

"DON"T PLAY GAMES WITH ME!" Sirius roared, spraying Avery with what looked like to be a mix of spit and blood. "I KNOW YOU KNOW WHERE SHE IS!"

"I don't!" Avery screamed. "I swear I don't! No one does! Do they?" He looked frantically at Dolohov and Nott, who both had their trembling wands pointed straight at Sirius. Both Death Eaters shook their heads.

"See?" Avery whispered. "I don't know! Just please…let me go! Let me go-I don't want to die. Just let me go-!"

His last words were cut off as Sirius gave a roar.

"SECTUMSEMPRA!"

Avery let out a blood curdling scream as the curse ripped through the fragile skin of his throat. Blood spurted out of the wound and he collapsed. He lay there on the ground, as blood bubbled out of his throat and pooled around him. He gave one last gasp and was still.

Dolohov and Nott looked in horror at the fallen Death Eater for a few moments. Their terror grew as Sirius turned to them; his ruined eyes seemed to burn with blood lust.

"Antonin?"

Narcissa's concerned voice drifted up into the room. "Is everything all right up there?"

Suddenly, Dolohov bellowed "AVADA KEDAVRA!"

The green curse sped towards Sirius, but at the last moment, a great shadow burst from his body and covered him like a shield. The curse glanced off it, and the shadow dissipated.

"Bloody hell," Nott whispered.

"Antonin?"

Narcissa poked her head into the room. "Is everything all-?" She faltered at the sight of Sirius standing wand clenched in his hand and the bloody corpse of Avery at his feet. "Sirius-?" She whispered weakly. "What-what are you doing?"

"Bellatrix," Sirius said, his lips twisting into a sinister smile. "Where is she?"

Narcissa looked at his, obviously confused. "Bellatrix? What do you want with her?"

"Just where is she?" Sirius snarled.

"I-I don't-I don't know!" Narcissa whispered in a terrified voice. She gave a scream as Sirius launched himself at her. "NO! Please! I have a son! Don't kill me! I have a son! He-he needs me!"

"WHERE IS BELLATRIX! YOU'RE HER SISITER! YOU MUST KNOW!" Sirius bellowed.

"NO!" Narcissa screamed. "NO! WAIT! SHE'LL BE BACK HERE ON TUESDAY!"

Sirius considered her for a moment and then released her. "Tuesday?"

"Yes," Narcissa gasped, clutching her sides. "Three days times."

"Wonderful," Sirius said, wickedly. "Now," he turned to Dolohov and Nott. "What to do with you?"

"Let us go?" Nott suggested weakly.

Sirius let out a bark of laughter. "Let you go? What do think I am? Some sort of idiot?" He grinned. "No, I think there's only one thing to do."

Nott's eyes widened and Dolohov's breath hitched in his chest. Both Death Eaters gripped their wands tightly.

"On three, we run," Dolohov whispered out of the corner of his mouth.

"Unless, you are willing to form some sort of deal," Sirius said, cleaning out blood from underneath his fingernails.

"One."

"But, no. Your Lord wouldn't like that very much would he?" Sirius sneered.

"Two."

"So, I'll just have to, ah, eliminate you-"

"THREE!"

Both Death Eaters launched themselves at Sirius, knocking the air out of him. Sirius gave a roar and bellowed "AVADA KEDAVRA!"

The killing curse barely missed Dolohov's head. He shot some curses back in return. Once again the spirits burst out and shielded Sirius.

"Fools…" Sirius shouted. "You cannot kill me! I am protected by the Dead!"

The two Death Eaters raced out of the room and bolted down the hall. They heard Sirius storming after them, heavy footsteps echoing through the empty halls.

Both Death Eaters sprinted down the staircase, Nott nearly tripping in his haste to be free. Then, Dolohov buckled and collapsed.

"Antonin?" Nott dropped beside the fallen Death Eater. "Come one, we got to go!" He turned Dolohov over, trying to get him up. Then he saw his wide staring blank eyes. He looked up, and at the top of the stairs wand pointed directly at him was Sirius Black.

"Don't move," he snarled.

Nott immediately turned and bolted towards the door.

"CRUCIO!"

Nott fell to the floor, writhing and screaming in pain. "Please!" He shrieked. "Please-stop! Please-AH!"

"NOTT!"

Narcissa Malfoy charged into the room, wand aloft. Sirius released the spell on Nott and turned to face the witch.

"Well, well, well," He sneered. "Someone wants to play with the big boys don't they?"

Narcissa hurled a killing curse at him, but he sidestepped it easily.

"Very well, have it your way," he whispered softly. "SECTUMSEMPRA!"

Narcissa launched herself sideways to avoid it, but it caught her in the temple, slicing a long shallow cut into her head. She gave a gasp and collapsed on the spot.

Sirius grinned and turned back Nott, still huddled against the floor. "Now, back to you…"

"Sirius?"

"Agh!" Sirius roared. "What now-" He froze when he saw Peter Pettigrew step into the light.

"Si-Sir-Sirius," Wormtail stuttered. "How-How-how nice f-f-for you to sh-sh-show u-up. Care f-for s-s-some tea?"

"AVADA KEDAVRA!" Sirius bellowed.

Wormtail stood there, petrified as the curse sped towards him. Trembling, he raised his eyes to meet Sirius' scorched ones. "I was sorry, you know." Then the curse hit him and he dropped dead.

Sirius stood there breathing heavily, and then turned back to Nott.

"CRUCIO!"

The man's screams eventually turned to whimpers as the torturing went on. And when at last Sirius was finished, he left, leaving behind a mere shell of the death eater behind.

* * *

"Hey Tonks?"

Tonks looked up from her paperwork to see Kingsley leaning against the door to her cubicle, the Daily Prophet clutched in one hand.

"Wotcher Kingsley."

"Have you seen today's prophet?" Kingsley said, striding over to lean against her desk.

"No, I've been too busy filling out paperwork. I swear they give me more paperwork than anyone-"

"Sirius was sighted," Kingsley cut in.

Tonks froze. "Really? Where-what-what did he do?"

Kingsley pulled up a chair. "Wiltshire, Malfoy Manor. We've been going around there every few weeks to see if anything suspicious was going on."

"Was there?"

"Well…no. But there was nobody around when we got there. The door was smashed open and in the front hall was..a battle field."

"A battlefield?"

"Well, it was more of a massacre," Kinglsey said, running a hand over he bald head.

"Gimme the prophet," Tonks said, reaching for the paper clutched in Kingsley's hand.

"No," Kingsley said. "They barely said anything. I know more than them."

"Oh, okay than what happened?" Tonks asked, leaning back in her chair.

"Apparently Sirius turned up there looking for Bellatrix Lestrange and found some Death Eaters. There was a brief fight. And a couple of Death Eaters killed."

"Who?"

Kingsley let out a breath of air. "Um, Dolohov, Avery, and Peter Pettigrew."

Tonks' chair fell forward with a snap. "Pettigrew was there?"

"Yep, now he's dead."

"Good riddance. Any injuries?"

"Narcissa Malfoy suffered from serious head injuries but she'll be fine. Nott was there and he was obviously tortured using Crucio. He's in serious care at St. Mungos."

Tonks fell back in her chair, shocked. "Sirius-Sirius did that?"

Kinglsey looked grim. "I'm sorry, Tonks. But the Minister decided it's time to send Aurors out to bring him in. He's doing too much danger and could be a danger to the public."

"NO!" Tonks cried. "You…you can't! He's not...jhe can't be...it cant be him! It's not him! I know him!"

"You knew him," Kingsley said. He gave her a look a pity and left her cubicle.

Tonks buried her face in her hands and let tears slid slowly down her face.

"Sirius what have you done?'


	7. Chapter 7

****

Disclaimer- Don't own Harry Potter. Never will.

**I think I'm probably the worst updater in the history of stories that haven't been discontinued. Well, maybe not the worst, but still bad! I'm sorry! Gosh, I need to get my life together. Stupid school**

**Read and review!**

* * *

"He WHAT?"

Voldemort slammed his first onto the hard wooden table.

"I'm s-sorry M'lord," Crabbe stuttered, eyes not meeting his masters. "But-but it's true! Black att-atta-attacked the Manor and-"

"I heard you the first time you IMBECILE!" Voldemort bellowed in rage. He stood up and paced around the room. "But my question is why?" He said in softer tones. "Why would Black come here, kill my Death Eaters, but leave two alive?"

"I don't know M-m'lord," Crabbe mumbled.

Voldemort turned to Crabbe, his red eyes glinting dangerously. "I wasn't ASKING YOU!"

There was a flash of green light and Crabbe thudded to the floor, dead.

The Dark Lord let out a breath of air. Sitting back down he called,"Bellatrix?"

There was a small squeak and Bellatrix Lestrange immediately poked her head into the room, looking slighting breathless. "Yes my Lord?"

"Your sister, Narcissa was one of those attacked, am I correct? "

Bellatrix fully stepped inside the room. Throwing her hair back she stalked towards him and sank into a low bow. "Yes my Lord. Along with Dolohov, Nott and Avery."

"Rise," Voldemort commanded.

Bellatrix immediately jerked up and almost fell. She steadied herself and sank into the chair on Voldemort's immediate right.

"And you questioned her-?"

"Of course my lord," Bellatrix breathed, leaning ever so slightly towards Voldemort. "She said Black and broken in and attacked Dolohov, Avery and Nott. He killed Avery and Dolohov. Then attacked Narcissa. The next thing she knows, Healers are swarming around her, Wormtail is dead, and Nott is screaming about eyes and shadows." She took another breath. "That's all she knows."

"Is it?" Voldemort folded his hands in front of him.

Bellatrix froze; her eyes widened.

"Bellatrix." Voldemort surveyed her through the gaps in his long pale fingers. "Did Black..ask..your sister anything?"

Bellatrix licked her lips nervously.

"Bellatrix…"

"He asked about me!" She suddenly burst out. "He-he WANTS me! Narcissa said-she said he wants-he wants to KILL ME!"

Voldemort looked at her for a moment. "Well," he said after a moment. "That's unfortunate."

"You're completely right my lord! Of course, it's terrible! Black's a lunatic! He's just awful-"

"I want you to go after him."

Bellatrix immediately froxe, mouth still half open. "You want me to go..after Black?"

"Yes." Voldemort's lipless mouth twitched upward in a cruel smirk.

Bellatrix stared at his for a second, then drew herself up to her. "Of course my lord!" She gushed. "At once! Black-he must be brought down!"

"I'm glad you agree with me," Voldemort said. "Black could prove to be an interference. He could destroy everything we're working for."

Bellatrix nodded enthusiastically, her eyes locked on Voldemort.

"However," Voldemort said. "You mustn't kill him."

Bellatrix instantly looked rather confused. "But, why not my lord?"

Voldemort gave a humorless laugh. "Black is a nuisance. But, well, you saw what he did to Avery. He could be…useful."

"Ah!" Bellatrix grinned, her eyes brimming with emotion. "Of course my lord!"

"Well,' Voldemort said. "Go now! Bring him to me! Alive and UNSPOILED!"

Bellatrix gave a small huff of disappointment. "Yes my lord."

As the door closed behind her, Voldemort stood and strode to the window to survey the Malfoy grounds.

Just a few days ago Black was here, he thought. He was able to break through the shields and protection so easily. They must be replaced with something stronger. Malfoy Manor was a strong place for headquarters. It mustn't fall.

And as for Sirius Black? Voldemort gave a dry chuckle to himself. If he didn't join the Death Eaters, he would die.

Either way Black was going to suffer.

* * *

Hermione Granger poked moodily at her scrambled eggs.

Stupid Slytherins, she thought angrily. Even if Harry's dead they still make fun of him. It's not fair. Harry didn't deserve to die! He had a full life ahead of him. He was too young!

"Hermione?"

She jerked out of her trance to see Ron Weasley staring rather bemusedly at her.

"You allright?" He asked.

"Oh, yea. Fine." Hermione wiped away some small tears. "Just thinking…about…Harry."

Ron's small grin immediately disappeared. He suddenly looked much older than his sixteen years, haunted by death and grief. "So have I," he said in a small voice. "Just think, he could have had a girl friend now. He was going to be an Auror. Now…"

Hermione reached over and squeezed Ron's hand. "I know."

Harry's death had hit all of them hard. As it should have, he was the school's hero, every year saving the school from disaster and ruins. Ron and Hermione had gotten even closer in their grief. They looked to each other for support and encouragement. They even stopped fighting as much. Harry had never liked when they fought. Neville, Ginny and Luna had joined their small group soon after. They all seemed to feel a bond with each other. They had all fought in that terrible fight, all seen their friend die.

Even now, months later, one of them would just start crying. Everything reminded them of Harry. He walked here, he kissed Cho Chang in there, that was his favorite dessert. Even Quidditch wasn't as enjoyable. The new seeker, a wiry fourth year, wasn't as nearly as good as Harry. Nobody was. The spot was empty for a while because nobody could bring themselves to fill the spot. Then the new captain, Katie Bell had stormed into the Great Hall one day and, through her tears, had given a speech about how Harry wouldn't have wanted the spirit of Quidditch to fall apart and he would have wanted Gryffindor to win the House Cup. And so they did, taking down the other houses in a torrent of grief. They had proudly placed the trophy in the case, along with a plaque on it, clearly reading 'For Harry'

Hermione sighed, mind full of the past. There was a loud squawk and a bedraggled bird swooped down, dropped a folded copy of the Daily Prophet in her lap, nearly landed in her oatmeal and then swooped off.

Hermione shook her head, a small smile gracing her lips as she unfolded the paper. A smile that soon disappeared when she caught sight of the front page.

"Oh my god."

"What?" Ron looked up, mouth full of food. Bits of bacon dangled from his open mouth.

"Look!" Hermione whispered. "Sirius…" She shoved the paper towards Ron and then fled the hall, sobbing.

"What the-" Ron shook his head and seized the Prophet.

**SIRIUS BLACK: TRULY MAD NOW?**

"What the hell?" Ron's eyes scanned the article.

Sirius Black…lunatic….veil of death...MUDERER?

Ron dropped the paper and darted from the hall, refusing to read any more.

A group of passing Hufflepuff stared after him in confusion and glanced at the paper on the table. One look at it and they too fled the table.

Shocked gasps and screams rent the air as other student received their Prophets. A group of fifth year Ravenclaws were reading the paper in horror, and on the other side of the hall, Draco Malfoy was looked terrified as he gripped the newspaper tightly.

Ginny Weasley looked in confusion at the panicking hall. She glanced over a young Gryffindor's shoulder and instantly understood the panic.

Splashed across the front page of the Daily Prophet was picture. One arm was holding the bloody body of a Ministry official, his mouth open in a soundless laugh and the burning eyes of Sirius Black were staring straight at the camera.

* * *

**A/N: Okay, so I don't really know if the Hogwarts students would actually panic as much as that, but I wanted something to terrify them and boom. Panic at Hogwarts happened.**

**So review! Tell me if you liked it, tell me any suggestions, and comments. Anything. Except please no death threats. **


	8. Chapter 8

A/N: Do not own Harry Potter.

* * *

"_Bellatrix….blood….murderer….Bellatrix…..must…..kill…Bellatrix…for Harry…"_

The broken thoughts raced through Sirius' brain as he ran his bloody fingers over his wand.

Dark shadows of trees jumped out at him like wild animals, twisting and turning. He could hear a voice whispering faintly in his ear.

"Traitor…avenge him….you killed him….my son..."

Sometimes, he could see faces in the gaps between trees. Sometimes it a tall, thin man with glasses and untidy black hair. Other times it was the face of a pretty red haired woman with green eyes. More than often it was the skinny teenager with the lightning scar on his forehead, partly obscured by his messy black hair.

Sirius found comfort in these faces. They reminded him of his duty. His job. To avenge Harry.

The ever whispering voice had told him that if he killed Bellatrix, Harry would be returned to the world of the living. He just had to kill her, make her suffer. For that was what Death liked. He liked to see people suffer. He liked to see families slaughtering each other. He preyed on the living's fear. And now Sirius was there to fulfill that feeling of murder. Sirius had been taken by the Dead. His thoughts had been twisted so he could only see blood and destruction. The small part of sanity Sirius had left had been thrown into a dark corner of his mind, and his screams of anger were unheard.

It had been a week since that night at Malfoy Manor. He had gone back on that Tuesday like Naricissa said, only to find the place heavily guarded. He had forgotten about the Dark Lord, or rather, Death had. He had forgotten Naricissa would have told Voldemort that he would be coming, she would have warned Bellatrix. But at least he knew had a good idea where Bellatrix would be. Looking for him.

So he would give her a scare.

* * *

Bellatrix tucked her hair behind her ear as she examined the black bark of a tree. Something, or someone left claw marks along the trunk and what looked suspiciously like blood.

"Bellatrix! Over here!"

Fenrir Greyback's harsh yell startled her. She turned to see him standing over the bloody corpse of a deer. As Bellatrix drew nearer she saw its throat had been torn open, its limbs were slashed open and the stringy meat was hanging out. She nearly gagged on the smell of raw meat and death.

"You think Black did this?" Grey back asked, lifting the corpse to sniff it.

"Of course." Bellatrix curled her lip back in a sneer. "Question is, where's he headed?"

"Is there a place near here or somewhere in that direction he might be headed?" Thorfin Rowle asked, pointing a large hand in the direction the trail of blood left.

"I don't think so," said a hooded Death Eater from Bellatrix's left.

Bellatrix shook her head. "No, there's something that way. He's bold…nobody would suspect an attack there…"

"Where's Black headed?" Greyback asked, throwing down the carcass.

Bellatrix looked at him, her lips twisting into a horrible grin.

"Hogwarts."

* * *

Evan Harwick was the stereotypical Hufflepuff. Timid, quiet, not the brightest guy ever. Slightly chubby, tiny eyes and a mop of blond hair that his mother insisted on slicking back. He was in his first year a t Hogwarts, and he absolutely loved it. At first.

He loved the classes, the teachers, the castle, and most especially, he loved magic. His father, who was a wizard, left his mother when she told him she was a Squib. So, he had grown up around muggles and knew nothing of magic. So Hogwarts amazed him.

Then, his older cousin, a fifth year Slytherin had begun to tease him. He and his friends bullied him into stealing, pulling stupid stunts, being a servant for them, all claiming it was part of the "Hogwarts Initiation."

So, they were to blame for where he was today. Wandering around the Forbidden Forest when he should have been at dinner. His cousin told him that if he found a unicorn and brought back one of the hair of their tails, they would pay him 10 galleons. If he didn't…

Well, he didn't like to think about the 'What ifs.'

His cousins also "forgot" to tell him about how hard finding a unicorn was. Evan hadn't studied them in class, and he was terrified of Hagrid. So, asking for help was out of the question.

_I should never have done this, _Evan thought miserably. _It's stupid. Maybe unicorns don't even exist. _

"Oh no they exist."

Evan gave a small scream at the sound of a rasping voice coming out of the dark.

He fumbled around in his robes for his wand. His fingers closed around the small shaft of wood and he wrenched it out, pointing it threateningly at the dark.

"Wh-Wh-Who's th-th-there?" He squeaked.

His answer was a laugh that sent chills down his spine.

Then, something grabbed at the back of his robes and spun him about several times. He spun into a tree and sagged against it, dazed for a few moments.

Evan's chest heaved with terrified gasps.

"Who are you?" He screamed. "Show yourself!"

"Aw," the voice mocked. "Are you scared?"

"N-n-no," Evan whispered. "I'm n-not….af-af-afraid…"

"Really" The voice sounded amused. "Well, I don't believe you. I think you lied to me."

Evan froze. "No," he whispered. "I d-didn't lie."

"Tsk tsk tsk. What a naughty little boy." A cruel laugh echoed through the trees. "Little boys shouldn't lie. Liars grow up to be bad people."

"E-e-everyone li-li-lies," Evan stuttered. "E-e-ever-r-ry-one."

"True," the voice agreed. "But I can still hate liars can't I?"

Evan's breath caught in his throat.

_It's not real,_ he thought furiously. _It's just a voice in my head. Nothing to be scared of. Just a voice. _

"Just a voice?" The person sounded offended. "Is that all I am Evan? Just a voice?" Harsh laughter suddenly boomed all around. "I'm much more than that! You'll see, I'm much much more!"

Evan had had enough. He turned and raced in the direction he hoped was to Hogwarts. The laughter followed him.

"You can't run from me Evan!"

Tears poured down Evan's cheeks.

_Please, whoever you are. I don't want to die,_ he screamed inside his head. _I have a mother. She'd miss me…_

"No she wouldn't."

Evan stopped in his tracks. "What do you mean?'

The voice snickered. "She's ashamed really. Your father was such a lovely man, so powerful and handsome."

Evan did not even question how the voice knew his father. The voice apparently knew everything about him.

"She hoped for a son as equally powerful and handsome. Then maybe your father would come back. She thought that once your father heard of you and your skills, that he would return." The voice sighed. "But no. Instead she got a blubbering, cowardly, fat, ugly blundering boy. "

"No," Evan whispered. "Lies, you're lying."

"OH! Now I'M the liar!" The voice bellowed. "A LIAR? IS THAT WHAT YOU THINK OF ME? A LIAR?" The voice cackled with mad laughter. "You're going to get it, Evan Harwick. I hate being called names."

Evan trembled with fear. "No…I'll do anything. Just don't kill me…"

Something tapped him on the shoulder.

Evan turned and went rigid as a knife was plunged into his throat. He gave a soft cry and his eyes grew wide with terror. His finger scrabbled at his neck and found the hilt of the knife. His rapidly dimming eyes went from the pale fingers grasping the hilt, to the yellow teeth stretched in an insane grin, to the blacked eye sockets. He gave one last gurgle and collapsed to the ground.

Sirius Black took one look at the body and wrenched his knife out of Evan Harwick's throat.

"Oops."

* * *

Ginny Weasley yawned and stretched on her bed. She threw aside the copy of _The Quibbler_ she had been reading. Luna had given it to her, something about needing to read up on the importance of the safety against Skunwabs, which apparently snuck into your room at night and ate your eyelashes.

Ginny didn't think much of it.

"Ginny?" Hermione poked her head into the dorm. "Ready for dinner?"

"All right!" Ginny stood and slipped on her shoes. "Merlin, I'm hungry."

"You sound like Ron," Hermione said as they headed down the stairwell.

"Oooh, Ron," Ginny teased.

Hermione stopped and shot Ginny an annoyed look. "You sound like Neville. I've told you, Ron and I are just friends."

"Course. Whatever you say 'Mione." Ginny smirked and continued down the stairs.

Hermione bit her lip. "Is it really that obvious I like him?"

"To everyone but him."

Hermione groaned. Ginny burst out laughing.

"Hey Hermione!"

Ron grinned at them from the portrait entrance. "What's so funny?" He asked, shooting Ginny a suspicious look.

"Oh," Hermione said, blushing. "Just something Pavarti told me."

"Oh, all right," Ron said, looking bemused. "Shall we go?"

They set off down the halls.

"Where's Neville?" Hermione asked.

"He went down earlier to meet Luna," Ron said, grinning.

"Are they like, a thing now?" Ginny asked. "They've been spending loads of time together."

"I don't think so," Hermione said, looking thoughtful. "But wouldn't it be great if they got together?"

"Definably," Ron agreed quickly. "Everyone needs some love."

Ginny shot Hermione a smirk from behind Ron's back. Hermione pointedly looked away, only to have something catch her eye.

"Hey," she said, stopping. "What is that? On the walls?"

Ron turned around. "Bloody hell! What is that?"

There was a dark substance splashed along the walls. Too dark to be paint, but not ink.

"I think it's." Hermione swallowed nervously. "Blood."

"God, if we have another Chamber of Secrets coming up, I will not be a victim here" Ron said backing up.

"Oh shut up Ronald!" Hermione hissed, walking along side the wall, following the trail of blood.

"What? Are you following it?" Ron said, his voice going up an octave.

"Well, we can't just ignore it," Ginny said.

They both hurried after Hermione.

"I wonder what happened," Hermione whispered. "To cause so much blood."

"Maybe Peeves finally decided to kill Filch," Ron mused. "Or maybe Snape did himself in. Or maybe-" His voice abruptly stopped.

"Oh my god," Hermione whispered.

A student was roped to the wall by his legs and arms, which were pointing at odd angles. His face and chest was covered in blood, which seemed to come mainly from his throat. His eyes were open in pure horror, and his mouth was stretched in a scream. His Hufflepuff robes were torn and bloody.

"Bloody hell," Ron whispered. "What the hell happened to him?"

"Look," Hermione said.

Written on the wall above him was words written in blood.

_He was just a warning. Watch yourselves._

_-Snuffles_

* * *

**A/N: All right. So that's that. I'm going to try to update quicker next time, but my weeks are pretty busy. But I'll try.**

**I'm debating whether or not I should kill one the students, Ron, Hermione, Luna, Ginny, or Neville, or if it should be a member of the Order. Any thoughts? **

**As always, read and review!**


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: Don't own Harry Potter.**

**A/N: I've been having a bit of a writer's block, I hope it doesn't show. **

**Anyway, hope you like this chapter!**

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"Bloody hell," Ron whispered. "Snuffles-?"

Ginny looked at the message in confusion. "Snuffles? Who's Snuffles?"

Hermione bit her lip. "Snuffles…was a nickname for Sirius. We used in two years ago when Sirius was hiding up in the mountains. Only Ron and I…and…Harry knew. Nobody else."

"Sirius?" Ginny looked alarmed. "But he's all…messed up right now."

Ron snorted. "Messed up? More like completely mental."

"It's not funny!" Hermione suddenly cried. "Sirius…he KILLED someone! He killed a child! This boy had a life, family…but now…he's dead!" She gave a sob and slumped backwards against the wall facing the bloody scene.

Ron looked at the body roped to the wall, then reached down to help Hermione up. Taking her by the shoulders, he said:

"It's going to be okay, Hermione. It's going to be okay."

Hermione let out a sob and clung to Ron, crying into his shoulder.

"I'm going to go get help," Ginny said, turning to race down the corridor towards the Great Hall.

_Sirius…killed that boy…why? _Ginny thought desperately. _What would drive him to that? _

"Going somewhere Weasley?"

Severus Snape's cold voice broke into her thoughts and made her freeze in her tracks.

_Snape! I need to get help from a professor-wait. Snape's a professor...not the most friendly one...but he can help!_

"Professor Snape!" Ginny cried. "There's been an attack! A student...dead! Sirius-"

"What?" Snape's eyes widened. "Black? What about him?'

"I think he killed a student!" Ginny shouted. "A student, a Hufflepuff…a young boy!"

"Black killed a student?" Snape asked, his eyes widening even further in disbelief.

"Never mind that now!" Ginny screamed. "There's a DEAD STUDENT!"

Snape looked at her icily. "No need to yell Miss Weasley. Take me to this so-called murder scene."

Ginny let out a huff of anger than raced back down the corridor with Snape at her heels.

"If you're joking Miss Weasley, I guarantee you that you will be in detention for the rest of the semester-" He froze as they reached the stretch of bloody wall and Ron and Hermione still huddled together facing it.

Snape's black eyes travelled over the corpse. "What happened?" His eyes found the message scrawled in blood on the wall. "Snuffles? Who is Snuffles?"

"It's a name Sirius used a few years ago," Hermione whispered.

"I see," Snape said. He took out his wand and the now illuminated tip examined the torn limbs. "Evan Harwick. Hufflepuff. He was in his first year. "

Hermione stifled another sob. Ron put his arm around her comfortingly.

Snape took a step back from the body, his expression unsure. "Professor Dumbledore needs to see this. He'll-he'll know what to do."

Ginny was surprised to see the cold black eyes that usually showed no emotions glinting with sadness. Snape raised his wand and a slender silver patronus burst from the tip and streaked away.

"Dumbledore will be here soon," Snape said. Turning back to Hermione, Ron and Ginny he asked: "Were you just walking to dinner when you found him?"

"Yeah," Ron said. "We just came down from the common room and saw a trail of blood leading in this direction. We followed it and found…this."

"Did you see any one walking away from the scene?" Snape asked, throwing a look back on the remains of Evan Harwick.

"If we did we would have followed him!" Ginny snapped. "What kind of question is that?"

"One that needed to be asked," Snape hissed.

There was a sound of approaching footsteps. A figure rounded the corner and as it stepped into the light, they saw it was the tall, bearded form of Albus Dumbledore.

"Severus," Dumbledore said. "You said it was urgent that I come-oh." He caught sight of the body. "Oh my..."

"Evan Harwick." Snape said as Dumbledore moved towards the corpse, eyes wide. "Hufflepuff first year. I believe he was killed by Sirius Black."

Dumbledore's eyes were wide as he examined the corpse. "Yes, that makes sense."

"What do you mean that makes sense?" Hermione suddenly cut in. "Why would it make sense that Sirius would kill a first year?"

Dumbledore sighed heavily. "It was a warning."

"For who?" Ginny whispered.

A tear slid down Dumbledore's face. "For you." He looked apologetically at them. "You are being hunted."

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Remus threw down the letter in anger. Dumbledore had sent a letter explaining what had happened and precautions he was having everyone that might be targeted take. The letter contained a list of spells to put on the house, defense spells, safe houses, and a list of those that might be targeted. Remus was dismayed to find not only Ginny, Ron and Hermione's name on the list, but also Neville Longbottom and Luna Lovegood, who had not even done anything except be there and participate in the fight. They didn't even know about the Order. And there, at the bottom of the list was Nymphadora Tonks.

Remus sighed. He wasn't shocked to find out Tonks was being targeted, she was Sirius' cousin, after all. But he was concerned for her. If he lost her...

He couldn't lose her.

He brushed his graying hair out of his eyes. He hadn't shaved in a few days, and he had a few extra scars on his face from the full moon several days ago.

_Sirius. Why now? Why is all this happening now? _Remus thought angrily. _Sirius was getting better..a little. He was recovering, talking to people, eating, sleeping. Now…even if he did get his mind back he would be arrested for murder. _

"Damn," Remus muttered, standing up and striding to the fireplace. Grabbing a handful of Floo Powder he cried:

"Albus Dumbledore's office!"

His house disappeared in a whirl of green flame and was replaced by the dimly lit office of Hogwarts' headmaster.

"Remus," Dumbledore greeted him, looking up from his desk. "I'm glad you came. Hogwarts is safer for you-"

"I can take care of myself thank you very much," Remus snapped.

Dumbledore looked pityingly at him. "You look terrible, Remus."

Remus ran a hand over his jaw. "I had a rough moon," he mumbled.

"Understandable," Dumbledore said, standing up and striding around his desk to Remus. "I assume you want to see the body?"

"And Ron and Hermione if that's possible…" Remus trailed off, looking hopeful.

"I already told them about Sirius and what happened. And Miss Weasley knows as well." Dumbledore opened the door and Remus followed him down the stairs.

"Was it wise to tell them about this?" Remus asked. "It's…disturbing information. They're just children."

"Children they may be. But they've faced more than most witches and wizards." Dumbledore shot him a look. "Mr. Weasley and Miss Granger were there with Harry through most of his experiences, sacrificing themselves for Harry. Miss Weasley went through quite an ordeal in her first year. I presume you heard about that?"

"Yeah, I read about it in the papers." Remus frowned. "But, this is different. Their friend is dead and there's a man out to kill them."

Dumbledore turned to face him. "It's no different from when Voldemort was after Harry. By being Harry's friends, Ginny, Ron and Hermione placed themselves in danger."

"This isn't Voldemort though!" Remus cut in. "Voldemort could never breach Hogwarts. But here-here we have a force that has no regard for life and can get into Hogwarts! The students are all in danger! No one can talk Sirius out of this, he doesn't listen! He'll kill anyone who gets in his way!"

Dumbledore looked slightly alarmed at his tirade. "Remus," he sighed. "I can assure you, Hogwarts' security will be better-"

"Damn right it will!" Remus exploded. "This is my fault!"

"Don't think like that, Remus!"

"But it is!" Remus leaned heavily against the wall. "I let him out of the house. I couldn't stop him at the Ministry! My fault. Mine and mine alone."

Dumbledore moved to comfort him but Remus shrugged him off. He faced Dumbledore with fierce eyes.

"No one else will die because of this!"

Dumbledore sighed. "I hope so. This way Remus!"

Dumbledore pulled a tapestry back to reveal a secret passage. He gestured for Remus to go ahead. Remus brushed past him angrily and set off down the dark corridor. They walked in silence until Remus said:

"How did Ron and Hermione take it?"

"What? The fact that they are being targeted?" Dumbledore looked grim. "Miss Granger took it all right I suppose, but Mr. Weasley...well he has Molly's temper." He sighed. "It wasn't as bad as it could be."

He pushed open a door at the end of the hall and Remus blinked at the sudden light. The infirmary doors were to his left, and with Dumbledore leading the way, they headed in.

Remus was greeted with Hermione Granger flinging herself at him with a sob.

"Professor!" She half screamed, half whispered. "Sirius-I'm sorry-he-Sirius-killed a student!"

"Let him breath Hermione," Ron said quietly, coming up to pry Hermione from Remus' waist. "Sorry about that," he said as he sat Hermione down gently on a bed. "She's been kind of worked up since last night."

"I bet," Remus murmured. "How are you?"

Ron shrugged. "I'm all right. The potions and stuff they gave me must have worked; I'm not nearly as worked up as I was last night according to Madam Pomfrey." He suddenly looked rather awkward. "Do you want to see the body?"

"That's what I came for," Remus mumbled.

Ron led him to the corner farthest from the door that was curtained off from the rest of the hospital. A young, pale faced woman was sitting in a chair in front of the curtain, staring blankly at the opposite wall as tears slid down her face. A small group of Hufflepuff first years hovered a few feet away, looking unsure if they were supposed to be here or not. The woman's gaze broke as they approached. She stood and swayed, still pale faced.

"What do you want?" She asked in a strangled voice.

Ron shot a warning look at Remus. He walked up to the woman and, grasping her firmly by the elbow, he guided her back into her chair. "Mrs. Harwick, you need to sit down."

"What do you want?" She repeated, her eyes going out of focus. "He's my child, my baby…my baby boy." She gave a tiny gasp and sank into the chair, eyes wide. "My boy. My baby boy. My little baby Evan."

"She's been a little out of sorts since she arrived this morning," Ron said as he frowned at the woman. "Madam Pomfrey tried to give her some tonics, but she doesn't trust magic anymore. Dumbledore said it's cause she's been living without it for so long. So, she kinda went…crazy."

Remus glanced at Mrs. Harwick, who was now rocking back and forth, hands clenched in her lap. "Yea…I can see that."

Ron sighed. "Come on. He's right here." He pulled the curtains aside and beckoned Remus in. Remus walked in, quickly scanning the small area. Dark curtains, tables of what looked like blood samples. A green robed Healer looked up as he entered and gave him a small smile. Remus' eyes found the table in the middle with the white sheet covering a very small figure. With no hesitation, Remus reached up and pulled back the sheet, eyes widening in shock as he saw what was left of Evan Harwick.

"Oh Merlin," he whispered. "Sirius, what the hell have you done?" His eyes ranged from the mouth open in a scream, to the huge slit in his throat, to the bloody robes, to the blood dried into the fingernails and down his legs.

Mrs. Harwick peered in from outside, perhaps to see if her son would suddenly jump up, alive and whole, but finding only the corpse, she gave a strangled scream and rushed in, roughly pushing Remus aside in her haste to get to her son. The Healer launched himself to her to force her bak, away from the body.

"Mrs. Harwick, please- yes- I know that's your son-but-Mrs. Harwick! We must contain-the body-don't touch him! Alica! Alica Harwick look at yourself! Stop this!" The Healer grabbed Mrs. Harwick roughly by the shoulders and forced her back. Alica screamed and made frantic grabs for her son, spittle flying from her mouth and her eyes rolling madly. She finally collapsed just outside the curtains and buried her face in her hands, wrapped up in her despair.

"Bloody hell," Ron muttered. "Told you she was crazy," he said throwing Remus a look.

"Not now Ron." Remus said, glaring at the teenager.

"Fine!" Ron backed out of the curtains, arms held up in a sigh of surrender. "I'll…just leave you to your…thoughts." He turned and ambled off towards Hermione, who was looking out of the windows, tears making their way down her white face.

Remus sighed and turned back to the body.

_Hell Sirius. Why this? Why did you have to be so convinced Harry's death was your fault. Just because he was still wrapped up in his misery-not that I can blame him, I would be too if my godson died- all this happened. People are dead and Sirius killed them. _

Remus had no doubt whatsoever that the man Sirius would be gone while Sirius was still being possessed by those spirits. But, if they could find a way to get those spirits out of him….

Sirius might still have a chance.

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Sirius stared up at the towering shape of Hogwarts castle from the safety of the Forbidden Forest. The forest was a source of food and shelter for him, as well as a way to keep an eye on Hogwarts. He glanced to his right, where Hagrid's hut was about half a mile way. Sirius had no quarrel with Hagrid, so he didn't go for the half-giant. That and the fact Hagrid was a half-giant so it would be harder to kill him and Hagrid could probably break every bone in his body, even with Death's protection. Unless Hagrid got in the way of his plan, there was no reason to kill him.

Sirius let out a short breath of air as he returned his gaze to the castle. When Bellatrix reached the border, it was a simple matter of undoing the wards and leading her into the castle. With luck he would be able to kill the two redheads, the mudblood, the fat one and the blond once he got inside.

As if on cue, there was a dull clang from the gates. Sirius whipped his heads towards the wall and saw dark shapes moving along the outside of the wall, occasionally shooting spells at the gates, only to have them rebound off the wards. He gave a dark chuckle and snapped his fingers. A dark shape burst from his fingers and flew off towards the boundaries. It hit the inner wall and expanded, covering the walls and moving upward to reach the sky. It moved steadily up and curved over the turrets of Hogwarts, then arched downwards to reach he ground of the opposite wall. To an outsider it would appear that Hogwarts was incased in a huge shadowy dome.

With another snap of Sirius' fingers, the top of the dome broke and the entire thing dissipated, the wards vanishing along with it.

Sirius' lips twisted in a smirk as the dark figures finally shoved the gates open and the group moved into Hogwarts. He counted about 20 figures, but Bellatrix would probably summon more to come to her aid. He chuckled darkly and moved out from the shadows of the trees. As he moved into the light of the setting sun, one of the Death Eaters spotted him. Sirius heard a yell go up and soon the entire group was sprinting towards him. Spells streaked towards him, but he dodged them easily.

With a wicked laugh, Sirius sprinted towards the wooden doors that led into Hogwarts.

He blasted open the doors with a mere wave of his wand. Students froze as they caught sight of him, some rooted to the spot, others stunned. There was a split second of silence, and then all hell broke loose.

The younger students pressed themselves against the walls in sheer terror, while older students pried them off the walls and shoved them towards the stairs. Several students ran at Sirius, wands in their hands and faces full of determination, but Sirius just threw them backwards with a flick of his hand.

He heard Bellatrix's mad laughter from behind him getting closer. He sprinted into the Great Hall. Students threw themselves out of his way as he barreled through them.

"Black!"

Bellatrix's scream stopped him dead in his tracks. He turned slowly around to see Bellatrix standing in the doorway, hair in her face and eyes wide with insanity.

"Oh Sirius..I've been looking forwards to this moment for a while now. The chance to kill you. The Dark Lord told me you were bolder now, but I never thought you were this bold. Attacking Hogwarts." Bellatrix laughed. "And killing a child simply as a warning. Even I'm not that cruel."

Sirius bared his teeth at her, but he wasn't really listening. He was sizing up his enemies. There were about 20 Death Eaters, but they didn't look very skilled. He could finish them off easily. It was the crowd gathering at the doorway that bothered him. A mixture of Hogwarts students and teachers; there was a tall man with a silver beard at the front, at his right was a greasy haired man with a hooked nose, and on his left a tall witch in a green robes and her black haired pulled back in a tight bun. Seventh year students stood behind them, some with wands out, others forcing away smaller students who obviously wanted to fight as well. But, it was the two faces at the back that stood out to him. There was a small women with bright pink hair looking at him with horrified eyes, and then, the face that really bothered Sirius. The face of a thin man with graying brown hair and eyes that had seen too many horrors for his age.

Sirius knew that man, he was so familiar, what was his name? Oh yes. Remus. Remus Lupin.

Remus Lupin's face was horrified and sad at the same time. He saw Sirius looking at him and offered him a pleading look. It was clear the message in those amber eyes. He could almost hear Remus' voice saying it.

_Don't do this Sirius._

And with the thought that Remus still believed in him, the part of Sirius that had been shoved in a corner for months burst out.

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A/N: Wow, that took me a while. There was another part of this chapter I was going to put in the end, but I couldn't find a way to end it without going off and finished the story. So, all the action will be in the next chapter. Which, I will try to get out as soon as possible.


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer: Don't own Harry Potter.**

**A/N: Hey look! I updated! **

**So, I know it's like forever since I updated and I really do apologize. My life's still incredibly busy, and that, added to the facts that my computer went dead, I lost this entire chapter, AND I had a terrible case of writer's block really makes it hard to think of a good way to end story. Sorry!**

**Oh, and I do apologize for any spelling or grammar mistakes you find. I proof read this like a three times, but I'm bound to miss some. I meant to get a beta for this, but I wanted to get this published before I forgot that it existed… So yea, sorry about that.  
Enjoy!**

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Bellatrix's taunts rang through the hall but Remus didn't hear her. His eyes were fixed on Sirius. In the few months that Sirius had been gone, he had changed so much. His face was whiter, his clothes were torn and bloody and the grin he wore was even more insane than it had been. It was obvious to Remus now that Sirius meant to kill Bellatrix. As he watched, Sirius' face scanned the hall and his blackened eyes came to rest on him.

_Don't do it Sirius. Don't kill her. She may deserve it, but you don't need to sink to her level._

Sirius' face suddenly went blank, and then was replaced by a look of confusion. He staggered a bit, but quickly regained his balance. He glanced around, eyes widening as he found Bellatrix's wand pointed straight at him and the crowd of Hogwarts' defenders at the door.

Then, his face transformed again, turning back into the scowling face that had been all over the news. With a yell he launched himself at Bellatrix, who gave a cry and Sirius plowed into her.

"GET OFF ME YOU MANGY MUTT!" Bellatrix screamed. She gave a loud screech as Sirius' fist connected with her nose. Blood spurted from her nose and down her face. She shoved Sirius off her and snatched up her wand, which had fallen from her hands. She shot a killing curse at him with a scream of "AVADA KEDAVRA!"

Remus' breath caught in his throat as the great shadowy shield burst from Sirius' body. The curse rebounded off the shield and soared back toward Bellatrix. She dodged the spell and it missed her by mere inches.

"The Dark Lord told you not to kill him!" A masked Death Eater behind Bellatrix shouted, wand raised as he looked in shock on Bellatrix.

"I WILL NOT WORK WITH THIS LUNATIC!" She shrieked."NEVER!" She hurled another curse at Sirius, which he easily side stepped.

"The Dark Lord wanted me to work with you?" sneered Sirius. "What an idiot. I'd never work for him." He moved to shot another curse at his opponent, but staggered again. He fell to the ground, hands on his head. When he spoke again his voice sounded much more human than it had before.

"Get out of my head you bastard!"

_He's fighting it off, _Remus realized with a jolt. _He…he's fighting __Death__ off. _

Sirius gave another yell as his finger nails clawed into his face and arms as he furiously fought with himself.

"What the hell are you doing, Black?" Bellatrix looked at Sirius rather bemusedly, her wand still pointed at him. "Are you even going to fight?" She gave a snicker. "I don't think you'll be very much help to the Dark Lord. You'll be better dead." She raised her wand to point it directly at his face. "Ta ta cousin."

Remus acted without thinking. Just as Bellatrix opened her mouth, Remus shouted:

"WINGARDIOUM LEVIOUSA!"

The Killing Curse rocketed towards Sirius, but at the last minute, Sirius rose several feet into the air. The curse missed Sirius by centimeters.

Bellatrix spun to face the crowd at the door, looking livid... Spitting hair out of her mouth, she screamed. "Who the hell did that? Who the hell wants to save this man from death?"

Remus pushed himself out of the crowd and faced her. "I do."

Gasps rose from behind him and he heard McGonagall's whisper of:

"Have you gone mad Remus? He's killed people! He killed a student! He tried to kill you!"

"He might have," Remus said grimly. "But it's not his fault."

"Not his fault my ass," a seventh year in the back snarled. He opened his mouth to say more but was hushed by Nearly Headless Nick.

Remus gave a rather watery smile to the group. "He's my best friend. I can't just let him die."

Tonks was nodding and smiling. She shoved her way to the front of the group. Joining Remus, she smiled at him and whispered, "You're so loyal to your friends… Maybe that's the reason I love you so much." She kissed him on the cheek and turned to look at Bellatrix. "You won't kill him."

Bellatrix sneered. "What? You think you can stop me? The Dark Lord has been alerted that I'm here and he's sending reinforcements." She grinned wickedly. "You're all going to die, either by my hand, or this monster's" She gestured to Sirius.

"Like hell we will!"

It was the seventh year that had spoken earlier. His Gryffindor Head Boy badge glowed in the light of the sun as he stepped forward. "You will not kill anyone else. You've done enough to ruin families, but it stops here."

"Well isn't that sweet," Bellatrix whispered. "The little lion cub wants to play. You want to die a hero? I can make that happen."

There was a sudden flash of blinding green that lit up the entire hall, silhouetting the crowd against the green light.

The crowd scattered as the spell rocketed through the air. The was another flash of light as the curse connected with a target, and a seventh year boy fell to the ground, eyes blank. There was a moment of silence as people stared, stunned at the body.

And then all hell broke loose at the defenders charged.

Screams and yells instantly filled the air as the two sides clashes. Remus could see McGonagall and Flitwick dueling two masked Death Eaters each nearby. Dumbledore was holding off ten more Death Eaters who were trying to get through the door. Ron and Hermione were finishing off Thorfin Rowle; Ginny Weasley shoved past him and into the fray.

Sirius and Bellatrix were dueling about fifty yards away. Students and teachers approached them, perhaps stop one of them from slaughtering each other, only to be blasted backwards. Remus caught sight of the murderous look on both faces, both fighting to kill. Bellatrix kicked Sirius in the face and drew back her wand to strike-

And Remus launched himself at them, tackling Bellatrix to the ground. She gave a tiny "Oof!" as he landed heavily on top of her.

"Get the hell off me you-" Her eyes bulged as she caught sight of him above her. "You! Your-you're the werewolf!" She gave him a shove. "Get off me you bloody animal!"

"Fine," Remus snarled. "I'll let him kill you."

Bellatrix's eyes narrowed as she picked herself off the floor. "He can't kill me," she said slowly. "I'm the Dark Lord's best-his most trusted-no one can kill me!"

"Sirius can," Remus told her before diving back into the battle.

He had barely stunned a Death Eater before someone jumped in front of him and pinned him to the wall. Fenrir Greyback's long yellow nails dug into his throat and he leaned in close to Remus. He could smell Greyback's breath; it smelled of blood and sweat.

"Hello Remus," he rasped. "Remember me?"Greyback's fingers tightened on his neck, leaving Remus gasping for breath. "You always were weak. Never had the guts to give in to the wolf." He grinned, claws digging into Remus' neck as he whispered, "Say hello to Lily and James for me."

Remus gave a last gasp as his vision darkened-

Then the hands at his throat disappeared and the world grew light again. Standing there, Greyback at his feet, was Sirius, looking quite confused.

"Sirius?" Remus whispered.

Sirius looked down at Greyback, then back at Remus. "I couldn't let him kill you," he muttered. Then his expression darkened. "That's my job!" His wand appeared in his hand and he slashed it through the air at Remus.

Remus jumped back just in time and the wand missed him by inches. Jets of light flew from Sirius' wand as he hacked at Remus. Remus was putting up shield charm after shield charm, barely having any time to send back any counter spells. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Tonks fighting Bellatrix. She caught his eye and sent him a grin.

Remus grinned back at her, then his eye caught sight of something behind her. "TONKS LOOK OUT!"

The cutting charm caught her round the head. She twisted and fell, leaving a spray of blood on the wall and floor. Bellatrix gave a cackle of triumph but it was barely heard over Remus' scream of horror. Forgetting Sirius, he darted to Tonks' side, who was lying in a steadily growing pool of blood. He could just see thin strips of white beneath her long lashes. Her breaths were faint and ragged.

"Awwwww," Bellatrix mocked. "Did the wolfy love her? Did he love itty bitty Tonks?"

Remus ignored her, cradling Tonks' head in his lap. "Please don't leave me. I can't lose you too. Tonks….please."

Her eyelids fluttered open. "Remus-?" Her confused question was silenced as Remus pressed his mouth to hers. She tasted of cherries and bubblegum. Her eyes were wide with surprise when he pulled away.

"Just in case I don't make it," he whispered.

Tonks said nothing, still looked stunned.

Remus gave her a weak smile. "Come on." Heaving her up, he started his way across the edge of the battlefield to where Madam Pomfrey was tending to a young Hufflepuff's rather severe looking head wound.

"Look after her," he said, setting Tonks gently down. "Please."

Madam Pomfrey gave him an anxious look. "I'll do what I can."

Remus grasped her hand briefly, kissed Tonks on the forehead, and then launched himself back into the fray, keeping one eye out for Sirius. He slashed and hacked at every Death Eater he saw.

_Hex, hex, jinx, shield charm. Duck. Jinx, hex, hex, shield charm. _

More and more Death Eaters were racing into the Great Hall and the defenders of Hogwarts were quickly being outnumbered. Remus saw Kingsley taking down a masked enemy; Ginny twisting and turning, firing jinxes in every direction; Hermione and Ron flew past him and into the steadily growing fight; and Lord Voldemort standing at the doors to Hogwarts.

Remus's blood went cold. God, he was even worse looking then he remembered. Voldemort's snake-like nostrils flared as he faced the battle before him. His eyes narrowed as they fixed on something behind Remus. Remus followed his gaze to see Sirius, slumped against a wall, a dazed expression on his face. In a split second, Sirius' face went from confused to furious as he caught sight of Remus' eye. Offering him a wicked grin and a middle finger, Sirius disappeared into the crowd.

Remus looked back at Voldemort, but the Dark Lord had vanished.

_Damn. Now there was a Dark Lord running around as well as Death. _

Bellatrix was fighting Ron, Hermione and Neville and they wove around her, unable to get a shot at her through the wave of killing curses she sent at them. Desperation shone in all three of the student's faces as they fought Harry's killer. Something exploded near them and they scattered, the dust covering them again.

Out of the dust rose Voldemort, also fighting three at once; Dumbledore, McGonagall and Flitwick. They ducked his curses and jinxes, weaving around him and each other. Dumbledore shot a fiery phoenix at Voldemort, who banished it with a gust of wind from his wand. Cold hatred was burning in his red eyes. With a scream of rage, a lightning bolt flew from Voldemort's wand and hit Dumbledore straight in the chest. Dumbledore was blasted into the air and for a moment, seemed to hang there, silhouetted against the bright lights of explosions. Then time caught up, and Dumbledore collided with a wall and slid to the ground. Remus' scream of horror was drowned out in the sudden noise from the fighters.

Death Eaters danced on the spot, shooting fireworks into the air, their screams of "HE'S DEAD AT LAST!" filling the air. Their celebrations were lost under the roars and shrieks of rage from the defenders. Fred and George were screaming at Voldemort; Ron was being held back by Neville, who was shaking with grief. Tonks, on the other side of the room, was beating the wall with her fist, tears streaming down her face. Kingsley and McGonagall were looking stunned, wands held loosely in their hands, and didn't even notice when Voldemort stalked past them to stand over Dumbledore's body. He looked unsure, as if his old enemy would spring up. But no, Dumbledore did not move. Voldemort's long white fingers found Dumbledore's wrist and he stood still for a moment, obviously looking for a pulse. After what seemed like a year, he let Dumbledore's hand fall to the ground and shrieked, "YOUR HERO IS DEAD! WHO NOW DO YOU LOOK TO FOR HELP?"

Death Eater screams filled the air again, and the Hogwartians stood silent, every face showing shock and grief.

_What do we do now? _Remus thought, mind still numb with shock. _Who is there to defeat them now?_

Bellatrix was twirling and laughing madly as she shot green firecrackers into the air. Then, a spell shot through the air and collided with one of the firecrackers. It exploded into green sparks, which rained down on Bellatrix.

Through the sparks and dust, came Sirius Black. A deep gash was on his forehead, blood trickling down the side of his face, but he didn't care.

"Impressive," he rasped. "You killed a 150 year old man. Congratulations."

The Hall was silent except for his wheezy laughter. Even Voldemort was rendered into silence.

"So," Sirius drawled, twirling his wand in his right hand. "Where do you go from here?" He directed the question at Voldemort, but his eyes were fixed on Bellatrix. "The Ministry? Or perhaps, Europe? Or maybe even the world!" He chuckled. "That's a bit clique don't you think."

Voldemort said nothing.

"Not much of a talker are you?" The light caught Sirius' destroyed eyes, throwing them ito even greater relief. "Ah well, I didn't come for you. I came for this bitch." He jutted his chin at Bellatrix.

"What the point?" Bellatrix said loftily. "You won't be able to kill me! The Dark Lord is here and he won't let anything-"

She was cut off by Sirius's roar of laughter. "What? You think he cares about you? Are you serious-Wait." He froze in mid sentence, an incredulous look spreading over his bloody face. "You can't be serious? You have feelings for Baldy here?"

"Don't call him that!" Bellatrix screamed.

"What?" Sirius sneered. "Did you honestly think you could have a life with him? Maybe, move into a little cottage and own twenty cats? Could you honestly see a future with this guy?"

Bellatrix's lip trembled.

"He wouldn't love you. He can't love. And even if he did he would never love a little bitch like you-"  
With a scream of rage, Bellatrix hurled herself at Sirius. Her wand slashed in a wide arc as a snarl took over her face. Sirius gave a exhilarated laugh and blocked her easily. They danced around each other, jets of light flying out of both wands, flying off each other and into the crowd. Hundreds of people watched the two fights. Voldemort was staring at Bellatrix, head cocked to one side, as she twisted around Sirius, unable to finish him. With a small smile, he stepped towards the fight and raised his wand to finish off Sirius.

And with a yell Remus threw himself at Voldemort, knocking the wand out of his hand. Voldemort gave a cry of pain and fell to the floor with Remus landing heavily on top of him.

"GET OFF ME YOU FILTH!" Voldemort twisted under Remus and shoved him to the floor. Springing up, he looking wildly around in panic. "Where's my wand, you idiot?" With a rattle, a long wand soared into his hand. Remus was defenseless in front of him, there was no time he oculd pull out his wand. He could see Tonks' tear streaked face in the crowd; he was going to die thinking of her. Voldemort drew back his wand to strike-

And Bellatrix Lestrange let out a scream of terror.

Voldemort jumped and Remus jumped up to spin around. In those few moments he had taken his eyes off the other battle, Sirius had Bellatrix pinned against the wall and his wand was digging into her neck. When he spoke his voice was soft, but it carried through the hall clearly.

"You…killed Harry."

"I didn't mean to-"

"LIES!"

They were nose to nose now, his yellow teeth were gritted and his eyes narrowed in rage.

"You killed it and you meant it! You…YOU MURDERED HIM!"

"PLEASE!" She wailed. "PLEASE DON'T KILL ME! PLEASE-"

Her cries were cut off abruptly as Sirius's hex cut straight through her neck. Her head wobbled for a moment, then toppled off. It bounced and rolled for a moment, then came to a stop at Voldemort's feet. Her headless body slipped to the floor, leaving a messy trail of blood on the wall. Sirius was quiet for a moment, then gave a shaky laugh. Soon his terrible laughter filled the castle, ringing through the crowd and in the hall.

Then Voldemort exploded.

His ear splitting scream of rage silenced Sirius and a barrage of curses flew towards Sirius. Sirius stood still, an empty smile on his face as the curses flew toward him. Remus waited with bated breath for the black shield to come out and save Sirius once again from death.

But nothing happened.

Sirius' eyes widened with shock a split second before they hit. The curses sliced threw his body, slashing through his skin and bone. Sirius let out a scream of agony and was wrenched into the air. From his body burst a great shadow that literally reeked of death. Screams of those long dead filled the air and spirits burst from the shadow and rocketed through the hall. Every window shattered, chunks of the ceiling fell, and the crowd was pushed backwards away from the explosion.

Voldemort was closest to the explosion. His body caught the full force of the blast; Remus could hear an inhuman scream of terror and agony rise above the blast. Then, it was over. The darkness was gone, Sirius was laying spread eagle on the ground, and Voldemort was nowhere to be seen. All that remained of the Dark Lord was a ragged cloak and his wand.

Whispers of "What the hell?" "Is he dead" "Go find out!" "No you!" rushed over the crowd until Kingsley Shacklebolt strode forward and prodded the cloak with his wand. Straightening, he exclaimed "He's dead."

There was one deathly second of silence, and then screams and cheers and bellows of triumph rent the air. Incomprehensible shouts were heard over sobs of women. Molly Weasley was sobbing and clutching at her husband, who was looking stunned. Hermione and Ron had found each other and were lip-locked. Neville was dancing around with Ginny and Luna. Everyone was screaming and laughing and crying and all together celebrating the end of a nightmare.

With all of this happening, Remus had rushed to Sirius and gentle shaking his shoulder, whispering:

"Oh shit, Sirius. Please, please don't be dead. I can't lose you. You've done some bad things, but those weren't you! Merlin, please, please, please wake up…"

Sirius stirred suddenly and slowly turned over. Remus nearly burst out sobbing then. Sirius' eyes were entirely his own bright gray and no longer burnt.

"Remus…? What the-"

"Sssh," Remus said, grinning through his tears. "It's going to be okay."

Sirius made to sit up, and grimaced. "Ow, damn that hurts. Wait let go of me Remus, stop hugging me! I'm fine!" HE shook his head as if trying to get water out. "What happened?"

"You don't remember anything?" Remus whispered.

"No…" Sirius' face suddenly went blank. "Oh. Oh Merlin. What…what have I done?"

"It's okay!" Remus exclaimed. "Bellatrix is dead. Voldemort is dead…I think. He might just be gone like before…"

"But Remus..." Tears streamed down Sirius' face. "I killed people."

Remus was silent for a moment. "No," he said slowly. "No, that wasn't you."

Sirius gave a snort. "Yea, defiantly not me."

"Sirius…."

"Remus." Sirius gave him a smile that looked more like a grimace. "Shut up."

Remus could help but laugh. Here Sirius was, bleeding to death, and telling him to shut up. Typical Sirius.

Sirius shifted, giving another weak gasp of pain. "Merlin that hurts."

"Here let me heal that," Remus said, wand already moving to the bloody wound on Sirius' chest.

"No!"

Remus froze, wand hovering over the gash. "What-? Sirius come on-"

"No!" Sirius repeated. He stifled a groan of pain. "I've-I've done enough damage. I don't reckon people will be that inclined to forgive me after what I've done."

"Sirius that wasn't you."

"Maybe it wasn't," Sirius said softly. "But still….Remus don't you touch that!"

"But Sirius!" Remus cried, mounting panic building within him. "You'll bleed to death! You'll die…"

"Exactly."

Remus could feel tears welling up in his eyes. "You can't…."

Sirius smiled weakly. "I want this. Believe me I've wanted to die for a while now." He grasped Remus' hand. "You're the last Marauder now Remus. The last one."

"No…"

"You have a life to live. You've had such a hard life and there's no one else who deserves that more than you." Sirius suddenly smirked. "I know you've been eyeing Tonks for a while now."

Remus smiled. "Tonks….Tonks is special."

Sirius smiled sadly. "You deserve her." His eyes fixed on something behind Remus. "I can see them now Remus… James, Lily….Harry."

His eyes glowed a bit, and then Sirius Black died.

* * *

The next few hours were a blur to Remus. Just a haziness of people cheering at the defeat of Voldemort, people crying over the death of loved ones, people silently watching him grieve. Someone had to pry Sirius's body from Remus; gentle hands, murmurs of, "I'm sorry" and then Nymphadora Tonks crying in his arms. He welcomed her with open arms, he needed someone to cry with, someone to share his grief and not scowl at the death of his best friend.

"Remus?"

"Yes?"

It had been a day since the battle. The Great Hall was still a ruin, the dead were still dead, but there was a sense of peace that had not been at Hogwarts since the return of Voldemort. Remus was content, just sitting there besides the Black Lake, as he been for most of the day, with Tonks in his arms.

"What do you think happened to Voldemort?"

Remus didn't speak for a moment. "I suppose he just vanished like last time," Remus said at last. "He'll probably pop up again in a few years, trying to regain power. Hopefully the Ministry won't be as stupid next time."

Tonks snorted. "Not likely."

There was a moment of silence, and then Tonks spoke again. "And what do you think will happen to us all? Ron…Hermione…Hogwarts…?"

"Well, we all know Ron and Hermione are going to get married," Remus said, grinning. "And as for Hogwarts… it'll eventually just go back to the way it was."

"And…" Tonks hesitated. "And what about us?"

Remus looked at her. "Us?"

"You…me….us…."

"Well for now," Remus said, kissing the top of her head. "We'll just take it slow. But…" He leaned down so his mouth was level with her ear and whispered, "I couldn't imagine being with anybody else."

Tonks laughed and kissed him gently on the lips. "Really? I would think you would want some librarian or a writer, not a clumsy pink haired Auror."

"Well it just so happens that my type is clumsy pink haired Aurors." Remus said, smiling down at her. He leand down and their lips touched-

His stomach chose that time to give a particularly loud rumble. Remus groaned inside his head and gently scooted Tonks off his lap. "Come on," he said, picking himself up. "Let's go get something to eat."

Taking Tonks by the hand he pulled her up, and together they headed back to Hogwarts, hand in hand, with a golden sun blazing above them.

**Finish. **

**A/N: Oh god what a cheesy ending. Eh, my writing skills will get better. **

**This was great to write! It took longer than I wanted, but that's my entire fault. Sorry again.  
I want to thank all my reviewers and anyone who favorited this, y'all make my day when I get those review emails. **

**Thanks again! **


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